Chinanews client, Beijing, February 16th (Reporter Shangguanyun) "The sound of firecrackers is a year old, and the spring breeze brings warmth to Tusu." The festive red lanterns and the fragrant New Year's Eve dinner... These elements together constitute us The best memory of "New Year".

  As a traditional festival with a long history, the Spring Festival is a grand celebration for one year old. Many ancient customs have a strong sense of ritual.

From the court to the people, people prepare for the New Year with enthusiasm, and they also make their expectations for the future at this time.

  So, how much do you know about the cold knowledge of the ancients celebrating the New Year?

Chinese New Year in the Forbidden City

  Some time ago, the official Weibo of the Palace Museum launched the "Gong Mao Ji · New Year" series of activities, which received widespread attention, and introduced the customs of the palace from the small year to the New Year's Eve.

Data map: Previously, the Palace Museum in Beijing set up a pair of "Sky Lantern" and "Longevity Lantern" in front of the Qianqing Palace, as the live experience part of the exhibition "Happy New Year and Celebrate the New Year in the Forbidden City" The audience is open.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Du Yang

  For example, the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month is a dust-sweeping day for the people. According to the official Weibo of the Palace Museum, this day in the palace not only needs to be carefully cleaned, but also the house decorations are lit with palace lanterns.

  The Andon time of the Qianlong Dynasty was set on the twenty-fourth of the twelfth lunar month. On this day, in front of the Qianqing Palace and Ningshou Palace, tall and gorgeous sky lanterns, longevity lanterns, and palace lanterns of exquisite style and exquisite workmanship will be erected.

  Next, there are many important customs in the Forbidden City, such as sticking door gods and so on.

The "Rules of the Imperial Order of the Ministry of Industry" in the Qing Dynasty recorded that "the gates of the palaces and other places are opposite to the gates of the sacred...

  In addition, there are also articles claiming that on New Year's Eve, in order to welcome the New Year, a "Spring Festival Gala" is often staged in the Forbidden City. This kind of performance is called Chengying Opera.

Moreover, the emperor also had to guard the New Year, and the Qing Palace also had a special lucky plate and a midnight snack box.

How did the Spring Festival come?

  It is not difficult to see from the customs of the New Year in the Qing Palace that the old "New Year" was actually a long-lasting event.

Data map: As the lunar year of the ox is approaching, the streets of Nanjing will be decorated with lanterns and lanterns, and lanterns and lanterns of various shapes will be unveiled to welcome the new year with joy.

The red lantern was hung up high.

Photo by Yang Bo

  As the saying goes, "The twelfth lunar month is the year, and the first month is still the year." If you count from the first day of the new year to the end of the fifteenth and the Lantern Festival, the Spring Festival celebrations will last about half a month.

  It is said that the initial embryonic form of the Spring Festival mainly originated from the activities of worshipping gods and ancestors at the end of the year.

"The Book of Songs·Zhou Song·Feng Nian" mentioned that "the years of good harvest are many millet, and there are also high ridges. Trillions and ridges are wine and wine. The ancestors of the ancestors can make a hundred gifts and bring blessings to all."

  But earlier, the month of the "first year" was not fixed.

Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty Liu Che ordered the implementation of the "Taichu Calendar", and determined that the first month is the first day of the year, the first day of the first month is the first day of the new year, the Han Dynasty is called "Zhengri", the Song Dynasty is called "Yuanri", and the Ming and Qing Dynasty is called "New Year's Day". .

  At the same time, the customs of the New Year continue to develop and improve, and activities such as burning firecrackers and changing peach symbols slowly appear.

Wuxin plate, Tusu wine...the taste of the ancient "foodies"

  The ancients' emphasis on the Spring Festival is also reflected in the food customs, such as people familiar with eating rice cakes, New Year's Eve dinner and so on.

In addition, there are some relatively "unpopular" customs, which may seem somewhat funny today.

  For example, according to textual research, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, people in Southern Dynasties would eat raw eggs on the first day of the first month for the purpose of strengthening their bodies.

At that time, people thought that doing so could clear away heat and reduce fire, and prevent plague.

  "Wu Xin Pan" was once a must-eat dish for the ancients during Chinese New Year, with meanings such as welcome to the new year, health care, etc.

In terms of form, it is a bit like the cold vegetable platter on banquets today. The ingredients include garlic and leeks and other five kinds of vegetables, but they will also be adjusted.

  As for drinking, judging from related records, the ancients may be more accustomed to drinking pepper, Tusu and so on.

The order of drinking is also particular. Su Che described it in his poem "Chu Ri": "The last year I drank Su Su, I didn't realize it was more than 70 years old."

  The ancients believed that the New Year is regarded as a child’s one year increase and maturity; the elderly lose one year and grow old, so we must first wish the young people healthy growth, and then wish the elderly healthy and longevity.

During the Chinese New Year, the ancients would also "go out"

  In addition to paying attention to food, people will celebrate the New Year through a series of other activities.

Many customs have a sense of ritual, and their main connotations are prayer and gratitude.

Data map: Folk paper-cut artists are creating paper-cuts for the Year of the Ox. Photo by Wang Haibin

  Like the “shousui” mentioned earlier, it is generally believed that this custom appeared during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties.

Zhou Chu's "Feng Tu Ji" also mentioned: "In addition to the night, the sacrifice ends first, and the young and old gather together to drink and sing to celebrate and then go away, which is called the division of age."

  The poems of many literati and poets also recorded scenes of keeping the year old on New Year's Eve.

For example, Su Shi wrote in "Shou Sui": "Children do not sleep and stay vigil at night."

  In the Song Dynasty, there were many new forms of New Year, and people might choose to go to restaurants.

Yuan Yuan’s "Tokyo Dream Hualu" records that on the night of the first day of the first lunar month, “women of your family enjoy gambling, enter the venue to watch, enter the shop for banquets, they are accustomed to doing things, and they don’t laugh at each other.”

  As time goes by, traditional customs are constantly changing, showing new vitality, but what remains unchanged is people's love for life and expectations for the future.

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